US and Russian delegations hold undisclosed talks in Abu Dhabi on Ukraine, following separate US-Ukraine negotiations in Geneva as Washington pushes peace plan.
ABU DHABI: US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meeting with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi, according to US and British media reports.
The previously undisclosed talks began on Monday and were due to continue on Tuesday, ABC News and the Financial Times reported, citing a US official.
The discussions follow separate meetings held in Switzerland between US and Ukrainian officials aimed at resolving the war with Russia.
The Financial Times reported that Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov would be present at the talks, though it did not identify the Russian officials participating.
“Driscoll has been involved with this peace process pretty hot and heavy in the past few days,” an unnamed US official told the Financial Times.
“Obviously, Ukraine knows what’s going on, they knew where he was coming” after Geneva, the official added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the meetings were taking place.
“I have nothing to say. We are following the media reports,” he told Russian state media.
The United States has been urging Ukraine to accept its proposals to end the war, despite Kyiv’s position that the plan concedes too much to Moscow.
The original US plan consisted of 28 points that would see Ukraine effectively cede its eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions to Russia and significantly reduce its military size.
Ukrainian officials have described these demands as unacceptable.
Ukrainian, US and European officials met in Geneva on Sunday to draft an “updated” version of the peace plan.
The Kremlin responded on Monday that it would not accept European amendments to the proposal.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv and its European allies describe the conflict as an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has caused massive violence and destruction.
Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed since the invasion began, while millions of Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes.
